Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)

Complex emergencies such as earthquakes, flooding, bombings, and the recent massacre in Utøya (Norway) can seriously affect entire populations and rip nations apart, with long-term psychosocial consequences impacting the most vulnerable as well as the helpers for years following the

Situation where widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses have occurred which exceeded the ability of the affected organisation, community or society to respond and recover using its own resources.

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.
A large number of high quality European guidelines and tools for psychosocial support interventions in

Unstable condition involving an impending abrupt or significant change that requires urgent attention and action to protect life, assets, property or the environment.
 

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management already exist and have been developed during the last two decades. OPSIC will build on this work by identifying gaps and assessing best practices and develop a new innovative comprehensive operational guidance system (OGS), which will serve as the operational interface between the existing guidelines and the practical intervention tools and methods. This interface is currently missing and hinders the effective operationalization of and compliance with the guidelines in practice.
Based on new research and analysis of PSS guidelines, best practices and the long-term psychosocial impact of crisis, OPSIC will design and develop an web based comprehensive operational guidance system that will operate as a common shared platform and single point of reference for PSS in

Holistic management process that identifies potential impacts that threaten an organization and provides a framework for building resilience, with the capability for an effective response that safeguards the interests of the organization’s key interested parties, reputation, brand and value­creating activities, as well as effectively restoring operational capabilities.
Note 1 to entry: Crisis management also involves the management of preparedness, mitigation response, and continuity or recovery in the event of an incident, as well as management of the overall programme through training, rehearsals and reviews to ensure the preparedness, response and continuity plans stay current and up-to-date.

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. The OGS will be validated through simulations tests in three countries with crisis managers, first responders, volunteers and possible victims and evaluated according to selected key performance indicators. Subsequently, the OGS will be demonstrated for a governmental end-user and a road map for implementation of the OGS into the end-user protocols will be prepared.
For the development of the guidance system, OPSIC will focus on all four phases of Holistic management process that identifies potential impacts that threaten an organization and provides a framework for building resilience, with the capability for an effective response that safeguards the interests of the organization’s key interested parties, reputation, brand and value­creating activities, as well as effectively restoring operational capabilities. Note 1 to entry: Crisis management also involves the management of preparedness, mitigation response, and continuity or recovery in the event of an incident, as well as management of the overall programme through training, rehearsals and reviews to ensure the preparedness, response and continuity plans stay current and up-to-date.

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;

Measures that enable an organization to avoid, preclude or limit the impact of an undesirable event or potential disruption.

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,

The knowledge and capacities developed by governments, professional response and recovery organizations, communities and individuals to effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover from, the impacts of likely, imminent or current disasters.

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,

Actions taken during or immediately after a disaster in order to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected.

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and

Decisions and actions aimed at restoring or improving livelihoods, health, as well as economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets, systems and activities, of a disaster-affected community or society, aligning with the principles of sustainable development, including build back better to avoid or reduce future disaster risk.

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, and relate these to the following target groups; - crisis managers, intervention forces, first responders, volunteers, victims and indirectly affected community.